


Support Network

by Skye_Willows



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: (not by any of the main characters though), Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Forced Outing, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, M/M, Nonconsensual Release of Sex Videos, Persecution Based on Sexuality, Pre-Relationship, sexual extortion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:46:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28204068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skye_Willows/pseuds/Skye_Willows
Summary: Nines and Connor are stunned when returning to the DPD after volunteering to assist Jericho, only to find the whole precinct in an uproar and Gavin Reed out of action.The reason leaves them even more shocked - learning that a sex tape has been sent around everyone and Gavin is set to take the fall despite being the victim of a vindictive crime.Knowing that Gavin has been badly let down by a system designed to protect him, Nines is determined to remind his partner that he's not alone, no matter how scary the future is.
Relationships: Upgraded Connor | RK900 & Gavin Reed, Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed
Comments: 6
Kudos: 98





	Support Network

**Author's Note:**

> Hey all.
> 
> So, I will freely admit that this is a vent piece. Someone very close to me came to me earlier today and revealed that he's in the exact situation that I'm depicting in this fic. He's not police but army, and the parallels struck me hard. In an attempt to process how badly he's been treated, I'm putting Gavin in the same position, sorry!
> 
> Please note that I have no idea if such a situation would cause the events that follow, but it wouldn't surprise me if it did. Everything I've written down here, however, is genuine possibilities for my friend, which sickens me.
> 
> This might be a highly triggering fic, but all of the triggering aspects should be outlined above in the tags. I hope that some of my own rage for the situation that my friend has been forced into comes across in this fic, because I think that the situation is such **bullshit**.
> 
> It's a tough read, but an issue that needs to be highlighted. I hate how victims so often find themselves let down by the legal system because of something like their skin colour, sexuality or gender. I'm not here to preach, but this in my process of trying to accept what someone I care about is going through from an outside perspective.

The minute Nines stepped into the precinct with Connor on that fateful morning, they knew something was  **very** wrong. 

Rather than the mundane chatter of the bullpen with everyone looking jaded and tired with the stress of law enforcement, there was an intense amount of chatter. Some people looked intense, others were stunned and a couple of pockets were laughing. The laughter wasn’t at all good, however. It was done in a highly mocking and nasty tone, which Nines was hyper aware of.

What stood out more than anything, however, was how neither of the androids’ partners were anywhere to be found.

[I don’t like this, Connor. Where are Gavin and the Lieutenant?]

**[I really have no idea, Hank didn’t mention anything to me about him not being in the precinct today. I’ve pinged him a message to ask where he is, but he’s not the best with answering if he’s in the mood to.]**

[Much like Gavin then. I’ve also sent the detective a message, hopefully he comes back to me soon.]

The pair had barely made it to their desks when they each received a message from Hank, asking them to come to the conference room upstairs – and to be very subtle about it. Sharing confused glances, the duo chose not to engage in any conversation as they took the elevator to the fourth floor. Now the pair were wondering exactly what they had missed in their week of absence helping Jericho with their lawsuit against CyberLife.

When the doors opened, Hank was standing nearby with his arms crossed and gave the pair a severe look. “I know you two are curious as hell, but I need to tell you right now that some serious shit has gone down. Strictly speaking you shouldn’t be brought into this, but I’ve convinced Jeffrey that we need your help. Can I trust you two to be discrete?”

Connor and Nines both nodded without hesitation. “Of course, Hank. Does this have something to do with the intense chatter downstairs?”

“You could say that.”

Hank led them to the conference room, to which both Nines and Connor found Captain Fowler sitting there with his head in his hands and countless datapads scattered across the desk. Nines quickly scanned several of them and his breath caught when he caught Gavin’s name mentioned among materials deemed ‘highly sensitive’. “What’s happened to Gavin?” he asked, completely out of the blue. Before he could even get an apology out for being so brash, Fowler held a hand up and ushered both androids in.

“I’ll get to that, boys. Take a seat.” Connor and Nines took two of the chairs opposite the captain, while Hank lounged back in another nearby chair next to Fowler. Now that he was seated again, both of them could see how haggard and stressed he was looking, and it wasn’t comforting. “Before we start, I want your guarantee that you will not be discussing anything that comes to light in this room with any other officers or members of the DPD. This is an incredibly delicate matter, and I  **will not** tolerate confidential details being outed, is that clear?”

After both of them nodded and even electronically signed various forms to confirm that they agreed to numerous confidentiality clauses (with full acknowledgement of the fines and penalties for releasing any unauthorised information), Fowler sat up to address the pair properly. “Two days ago a video was released within the DPD’s systems. This video was of a highly personal nature, and the contents are a breach of privacy. However…it has also brought the force into disrepute, and as such we need to take action against those involved.”

“This sounds extremely serious,” Connor muttered. 

“It is, and I will appreciate it if you boys keep your comments to a minimum during the footage. I will warn you now, it is of someone that you are both well acquainted with, but may not have knowledge of this side to them. Are you ready to see it?”

Following another nod, both Connor and Nines were allowed to tune into the tablets in front of them to see the scene in question. Nines was instantly on high alert when he saw Gavin’s face appear, and his systems froze for a second once the camera panned down. 

Gavin was naked save for the leather shoulder harness that he was wearing, complete with badge and gun in very plain sight. 

Both of them watched the video in silence, and Nines felt rage course through him as he saw Gavin performing a blow job on someone, clearly taken from a phone or handheld camera. It was obvious from how often Gavin looked up that he was fully aware of the filming, which meant it was done consensually at least, but it was highly intimate. From all appearances, it seemed to be something filmed between a couple rather than a casual hookup.

There were a few details that Nines couldn’t help but fixate upon. One, was just how good Gavin looked in the footage (which he was ashamed to think given he never should have witnessed this), and two, that Gavin was younger. His preconstruction footage estimated that Gavin was probably in his late twenties or early thirties when this was filmed. It was strange to see something so private from Gavin’s past, especially about someone that he had a very mixed relationship with in the past, despite it improving greatly recently.

When the video ended both androids passed the tablets back, to which Fowler let out a severe sigh. “So, you’ve seen the clip. Are you both of the agreement that Detective Reed was a willing participant in such, and fully consenting at all times?”

“Agreed, and he seemed excited by the video even,” Nines stated honestly, to which Connor voiced his agreement.

“All right, we’re all on the same page with that then. Do you think this was intended as something to be produced for the public to see? Either as an amateur production as a hobby or paid by someone?”

“No, that doesn’t seem right from my perception,” Connor said hesitantly. “The commentary and physical interactions indicated familiarity, and there was an added layer of intimacy from what my software was suggesting.”

“I concur, there’s an 86% chance that Gavin was with a romantic or intimate only partner, and it’s a 72% chance that the partner is romantic. That implicates that this is a consensual sex tape.” Nines now had a horrible feeling about where this was going, and he hoped that he was wrong. If he was right, then it was little wonder that Gavin wasn’t anywhere to be seen – and he was also very aware of the problems it could cause for Gavin’s career.

Fowler and Hank shared a look, to which Hank smiled sadly. “Very well then, we’re all in agreement. While that also helps to a degree, it does bring up a whole new level of problems. Three days ago this video was shared among the DPD private network, and was sent to everyone via an anonymous email. We have thus far been unable to trace a source, and haven’t the slightest idea as to where to start looking,” Fowler told them,

Nines’ pump stuttered at hearing  **everyone** was sent this clip. Knowing human nature…it meant that everyone had seen something that was meant to be private for Gavin. “Shit,” the RK900 swore, to which Hank chuckled bitterly. 

“Well put, though I would have gone with ‘fuck’ myself,” Hank joked before continuing. “Since you two have confirmed that the video’s consensual, this means there’s an added element to this problem that Jeffrey and I are struggling to come to terms with. Had this just surfaced on the net with Gavin’s face and we had the slightest hint of it being a forced act, it would have been an open and shut case of sexual extortion. The problem is…Gavin did it with his badge in plain view, and anyone in law enforcement can search to verify that it’s genuine. Technically he’s now brought the force into disrepute by doing so.”

Connor surprised Nines by jumping in first. “I can’t believe that regulation applies in this case. Gavin’s the victim of a sex crime, how is he going to be prosecuted for something that wasn’t his fault?”

Fowler sighed deeply. “I know, Connor, I know. The problem is that you take an oath to always uphold the values of your badge, which includes not engaging in any acts which could cause public outrage. I completely agree that it shouldn’t apply in this case, but some of those higher up in the force think differently. I’ve been ordered to charge Gavin for bringing the force into disrepute. As of yesterday, he’s on unpaid suspension pending his hearing.”

Nines was incensed. “Who ordered this?” he demanded.

“Doesn’t matter, sadly. Jeffrey can’t defy direct orders,” Hank told them bitterly. “We were honestly hoping that you two could have found  **anything** that indicated that Gavin might have done this under duress or was forced, as twisted as that sounds. Then we had a legitimate defence for the charges to be dropped. This…isn’t ideal to say the least.”

“Hank and I brought you two in to hopefully trace where this came from,” Fowler told them. “I’ve no idea what son of a bitch set this up, but I’m adamant that it is a malicious move to ruin Gavin’s career. Be it from a bad breakup or someone that was trying to blackmail him, I’ve no idea, but I want you two to comb through as much of Gavin’s shit as you can. Find even the slightest hint of foul play which we can use to set up a prosecution of the fucker that’s set this chain of events off.”

“Understood.” Nines’ tone was chilling and his face was stony. “What does the process entail for Gavin now?”

“He’s got a couple of hearings before anything goes on record, it’s a lot of steps. First legal hearing will be in a week, it’ll probably take somewhere in the region of three to six months for this to be resolved.”

“And Gavin’s on  **unpaid** suspended leave until then?!” Connor exclaimed. “How will he be able to afford anything?”

“He won’t, Con. That’s the most fucked up bit with these orders. By the time this all goes before a final hearing, Gavin’ll be homeless most likely,” Hank told them quietly.

Nines’ fists were clenched so hard that his chassis was cracking in his palm. “I’ll find whoever did this.”

Fowler recognised the deadly tone and held up a hand. “Hold up, Nines. Before you go on a witch hunt, there’s still more work that we need to be doing. Hank and I are currently trying to go through any old cases that have come up about this in the DPD, but we can only do so much with human search capabilities. First priority for you two is to find any other cases and see what was involved in every step. I can’t interfere with the process itself, but I can make sure that Gavin gets a fair trial. Once you’ve got that and we’re working behind the scenes, then you can go full bloodhound.”

“No offence, Captain, but nothing about this is fair,” Nines spat venomously. “If you’ll excuse me, I need some time to process this.”

“Take all the time you need, Nines. Hank and I’ll be in here for another three hours as we work through stuff anyway. Before you go, however – and I know you’re gonna hate me for saying this - you’ve been reassigned a new partner. Chris is now your partner until further notice and we’ll be briefing him later on what we can. This is gonna be a mess for a while, unfortunately. Just remind yourself that there’s no quick fix for this.”

Nines gave a short nod to acknowledge the captain’s final words before storming out, needing to get outside and clear his head. While he hadn’t taken on board many human mannerisms, blowing off some steam by going outside was one of them. The cold air definitely helped him to calm down, and at least with it being December there was plenty of that around. 

When he reached the roof he strode over to the railing and leant on it, staring towards where he knew Gavin’s apartment was. The two of them weren’t friends, they didn’t hang out socially or anything like that, but they were good partners. Trusted each other, watched each other’s backs – were there for each other if they ever needed anything. Right now, more than ever, Gavin was going to feel so alone and betrayed.

[Nothing I say will help right now, I know that, but I swear to you that I’ll find whatever bastard has done this to you, Gavin. I promise you.]

Nines blinked at realising his thoughts had actually manifested in a message which was sent before he’d consciously thought about it. Embarrassment coloured in Nines’ cheeks and he was halfway to forming an apology when he saw the message flipped to ‘read’. Nervousness rose up through his system as the seconds ticked by, before he saw dots appear to signify that Gavin was writing back.

**[Thanks, tin can. Appreciate it.]**

All things considered, Nines was glad that Gavin still held some trust in him. He wouldn’t have blamed the man for shunning everyone right now. Clearly some of the emotion behind Nines’ words came though, even though it was only text on a screen. Nines didn’t stay up there long before striding back downstairs determinedly, a new mission practically embedded in his HUD.

Time to hunt the fucker that was trying to turn Gavin’s life upside down.

* * *

Days went on, and Nines detested just how much gossiping was going on around the station. It seemed that everyone was hung up on the video, with some being less than complimentary about it. Despite an order from Fowler to keep it quiet or face the wrath of him and the HR department, there were still a few that persisted. Too bad for them that Nines was feeling particularly malicious, and had no hesitations about recording all of the derogatory comments to be sent off to start disciplinary proceedings. 

His pump pulsed anytime someone would sneer about ‘ _ how well Reed can suck cock, clearly he’s a slut who does it a lot’ _ , or ‘ _ always knew the prick was a queer fucker, explains the attitude problems’.  _ He was incensed on Gavin’s behalf, but it was clear to see there were a few on Gavin’s side who were steadfastly defending and protecting him.

Thus far he’d seen Hank threaten more than one group with warnings in an unmistakable tone, while Connor simply had to glare at some for them to scatter. Tina’s reaction had been a little more spectacular with a full on shouting match in the break room, while Chris managed to get his first ever disciplinary warning for punching someone. He’d not repeated what was said in front of Nines and Connor, but Hank confirmed later that what was uttered from the other officer’s mouth was going to land her with a far worse result than Chris got. 

While Nines was glad to see Gavin’s inner circle defending him so soundly, it was only a few voices howling into a gale. Gavin’s own reputation within the DPD meant that he was taking a battering from the gossip – for the first time Nines was relieved that Gavin wasn’t around to see his name be dragged through the dirt so viciously. 

After a week, Nines finally plucked up the courage to try and visit Gavin. 

He’d heard from all of Tina, Chris, Hank and Connor (even Fowler had been around before now, much to Nines’ shame) that Gavin was doing well, all things considered. They’d started looking at options on how to help fund Gavin during his suspension until they flipped it back to being paid, but nothing had been firmly decided yet. Upon discovering that someone higher up had ordered Gavin’s suspension to be unpaid, contrary to almost every prior case similar to Gavin’s own, they were lobbying to have that overturned at least. 

Knocking on Gavin’s door, Nines was surprised to see the detective open it wearing a tight tank top and yoga pants; he’d clearly been exercising right before Nines’ appearance. “Curiosity finally got the better of you, huh?” Gavin joked while stepping away from the door. “Might as well see the rest of it then, tin can. It ain’t much more than a shithole, but it’s my shithole.”

Nines took in the apartment with an unjudging gaze as he closed the door behind him. Despite being on the smaller side of things, it was warm and welcoming. He smiled at finding four cats sprawled around the room, almost all of them asleep. The only one awake chirped at Gavin as he came closer, and he petted the all-black feline with a smile. “You just gonna stare all day, or you gonna ask away?”

The statements weren’t harshly spoken, they were actually very even in tone. Gavin wasn’t presuming anything regarding Nines’ line of questioning, only that he would surely wish to know more about how Gavin landed himself in such a precarious position. “Has Captain Fowler briefed you on my purpose in this investigation?”

Gavin sighed as he picked up the black cat and started petting her. “Yeah, he made sure I was cool with it before you went traipsing through my full social media history. Take it you found the video then?”

“I did,” Nines confirmed. “You were unaware that it was posted publicly?” 

“Yeah…” Gavin mused as he thought for a couple of seconds. “We did it a few times, filmed ourselves at it. Matt and I loved to play around with shit to do with our jobs. He’s a firefighter, so he’d keep on his uniform while I’d do the same. After I’d made detective we switched it up and made sure for my badge to be prominent, it was all for our own fun. That wasn’t even some of the spicier shit we filmed, we both had a filming kink.”

Nines nodded at hearing Gavin retell how the video came to be. “Did you know that he’d shared it after everything came to light?”

“Course I did, never shared that shit with anyone else since it was between us, y’know? Matt and I were together for years,” Gavin said wistfully. “As soon as I realised that it had to be available out there, though, I phoned Matt and told him what happened. He was heartbroken to find out that someone’s been using it against me, that it’s landed me where I am now. The site that he’d posted it on was small, but it was still enough damage done.” He then let his cat drop back to the sofa as he sighed deeply again. “Took it all down without me even having to ask. I’ve got recordings of all the conversations we had since I was sent home, you can take it all for evidence if you want.”

Very clever – despite his mind no doubt being in turmoil with current events, Gavin was smart enough to leave himself accountable at every step. Hiding anything would come across as an admission of guilt, but Gavin was making sure it was all in public view. “Do you know who is doing this to you?”

Gavin paused for a good minute before he spoke, and this time his tone was a lot more despondent. “I’ve got an idea, but how it got to the DPD I’ve not the faintest clue.”

“Tell me.” Nines waited for a few seconds before stepping closer to Gavin and resting a reassuring hand on the other man’s forearm. “Please, Gavin, tell me. I will not presume them to be guilty instantly, but it would at least give me somewhere to search.”

After thinking it over for a little longer, Gavin deflated and turned away as he told the story. “I was lonely for a while, and I started talking to a guy over a dating app. He was pretty decent, we didn’t rush. Talked for a good 8 months before we met in real life, even though we’d been chatting and video calling for about 6 before that. He was sweet enough, but still feisty. I knew I liked him by the time we met up. 

“Decided to try dating after our fourth meetup. It worked really well for four months before it started to sour. Name calling if I spent more time out with Teenie or Chris, bitching if I didn’t pick up his calls after a couple of tries – even when he knew I was working, and that I keep chaotic hours…” Gavin walked through to the kitchen and poured himself a coffee as he continued speaking. Nines didn’t let him get too far away, however, and kept nearby. Not within Gavin’s personal space, but as a supportive presence just in arm’s reach. 

“Maybe I was naïve to still want it to work after all that, but I didn’t want to just throw in the towel. Worked really hard at trying to bring the spark back but he then called it off. Nothing malicious in it at first, and we kept messaging tentatively for a couple more weeks. He went dark 11 days ago, right before that video surfaced. Might just be coincidental timing but…”

“It’s worth exploring, that’s for certain. Knowing you, however, you think there’s something else that makes him stand out as a suspect,” Nines pointed out, which had Gavin chuckling. 

“Nothing gets past you, does it, tin can?” he smiled fondly. “You’re right though. Only reason I think he could be a possible suspect is because at the very start of when we chatted, he asked for any photos or videos. I said no, but didn’t rule it out in the future. We used to joke regularly about when he’d been ‘good enough’ to get a show.”

Nines scowled. “Did you ever share anything?”

“Nope, wasn’t comfortable doing it with someone that early. Committed relationship, hell yeah. Did it a couple of times at a club, but that was all properly blurred out so that no-one was identifiable and I knew I was in a safe setting. This though? I only ever played out those scenarios with Matt, had to be from him. I know this guy liked those types of videos though, so he might have stumbled across something at any point.” 

Gavin set down his coffee as he looked at Nines cautiously. “That's all you really wanted to ask?”

“No.” Nines wondered what was the best way to phrase this next question, but decided that being blunt was probably best. “What are you going to tell them when you’re questioned about it?”

“The truth, I ain’t got anything to hide. Had I been a civilian this wouldn’t have been a damn problem, what people share and do in private is their own business, I’d be the victim since that was shared against my will. Only reason this has come up at all is that the fucking badge is clear enough to read the numbers and tie it to me,  **and** it was shared internally within the goddamn DPD.” His fists clenched at that fact. 

“It’s not even that Matt shared the video without me knowing about it, I know he didn’t mean anything bad. Apparently he posted it to show how hot the stuff we used to film was, which I find ironic. What fucking  **sucks** about this whole scenario is that I  **know** the only reason this has gone so far is because I was sucking someone’s cock. Had I been fucking a  **woman** or doing whatever shit with a  **woman** , it would have been swpet under the carpet. It’s cause I’m gay that this had caused ‘public outrage’, as the fucking party line goes.”

Nines had suspected the same thing looking through the previous case files he’d found. He didn’t want to mention to Gavin that the unpaid suspension was also, most likely, because someone took issue with Gavin being gay. The grace with which Gavin was handling the situation had Nines in awe, however. “Despite knowing that the most severe punishment is six months in prison, you’re still willing to go in and tell them the truth?”

Gavin stared at Nines defiantly. “I ain’t ashamed of those videos, Nines. I took part in them because they were fun and it was something shared between partners. Don’t regret them even now, I’m not gonna be made to feel bad for what I do in private with someone I trust. I’ll tell that to anyone who’s got a damned problem with them.”

A tiny smile came to Nines’ face. “In that case, I guess you’ll be glad to hear about some of what has happened at the precinct.”

“You mean Chris fucking decking Sanderson? Kudos to the guy for launching at the bitch, but what the hell did she say to set him off? I mean, Chris is the nicest guy I know and he’d never hurt a woman, he treats his wife like she’s a queen!” Gavin asked through a slight smile of his own.

“I’ve yet to find that out, Chris has never told me and neither has the Lieutenant. I’m sure you can find out from him when you’re back,” Nines chuckled. 

“Hah, never know, Chris and I could both be beat cops again at that point if I’m still part of the force. Could have a little race for who makes detective first, that might actually be fun.”

Mention of Gavin potentially being demoted had Nines scowling again. Though it was the most likely outcome based on what Nines had researched, he hated the thought that a betrayal of intimate trust could lead to Gavin’s dreams of becoming the youngest Lieutenant in Detroit being destroyed. It seemed so wrong. “That won’t happen, I promise you.”

Gavin’s expression turned sad. “You don’t know that, Nines. I could be in a cell in six months, or out on the streets if I don’t get paid again. We have no idea what they’re gonna decide.”

Nines realised that there was too much space between them, and he wanted Gavin much closer. He strode forward and placed a hand on Gavin’s shoulder to pull him nearer, ready for if the other man resisted in the slightest. Contrary to what Nines expected, Gavin actually went willingly into his arms and the two were soon in a tight embrace. “I’m not losing my partner forever. When I get you back, I’m not letting you go again.”

A wet laugh escaped Gavin and Nines flushed when he felt the detective leave a feather light kiss to his collarbone. Had Gavin done it to a human they most likely wouldn’t have noticed, but Nines felt it sear him like a brand. “Sap. Thank you, though. All of you. I don’t think I’d manage without all of you there. It’s easy to listen to all of the crap that gets spewed out.”

“We’ll always be there for you, Gavin, no matter what comes next. We’re never leaving your side.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope that I did the situation justice, and I thank you all for reading something so close to my heart.
> 
> I'll be back with more of my usual brand of angst soon.


End file.
